“Remember, Alison, anything is possible in Paris.”
Welcome to my site. I’m Alison and this is Part 2 of my nomadic journey, the story of Paris and her possibilities. Part 1 when I chose to pack up my life and become a nomad is here.
These past six years, I’ve had countless adventures on this mostly solo journey, enjoyed wonderful encounters with locals and learned that stepping outside my comfort zone, although never easy, is where I find the magic.
Instead of trying to go everywhere, I discovered that my passion is France, a country where I feel at home. I am totally embracing the notion that I am secretly French!
I’m currently living in Paris following these words of wisdom from my twenty-year-old self, “Anything is Possible in Paris.” I’m dying to share my discoveries to help you plan an intriguing, solo adventure to Paris and beyond.
The Story of Anything is Possible in Paris
It’s a funny thing about life that our true selves are always there. Waiting for us to pay attention. Waiting for the right time.
In my case, I travelled through Europe as a backpacker in 1980. I spent six months in seven countries. The country I spent the most time in was France. I kept going back by myself and to meet my sister, my mother and various friends. Paris was a key part of that journey.
Fast forward many years ahead when I had decided to burst the confines of my comfort zone (read the full story here), wrap up my career, rent and then sell my house and become a modern-day nomad. I had a lot of packing up to do. Buried in a box in my basement, I came across my old brown leather journal from 1980 tracking my travels.
Those last few months of work, I spent my breakfasts rereading my journal with a map of Europe in front of me, marvelling at how I had navigated to so many places, caught trains, found accommodation with only the help of Let’s Go Europe. No google searches. No google maps. No TripAdvisor. No booking. com
I turned the last page in my journal and read with great care the details of my final trip to Paris that year. And then my heart stopped. For there staring me in the face were the words,
“Remember, Alison, anything is possible in Paris.”
These words resulted in a physical reaction in my body. They pierced my heart. They made me pay attention. I hadn’t been back to Paris in decades.
I didn’t know at that exact moment why the words held such power. I tucked them away, not to be forgotten.
I visited Paris on my nomadic journeys, the first return trip being momentous, and what I noticed is that I always felt like I was coming home. I dismissed this as the most ridiculous of thoughts. Throughout my first four years of nomadic travels, I returned to Paris and France on many occasions and I kept meeting French friends in all corners of the world.
Finally, I decided to apply for a visa to live in France for a year because Anything is Possible in Paris.
Right?
I arrived just before the Coronavirus confinement of 2020 and am currently still here, almost two years later.
Possibilities and making the most of our lived experiences is what makes life interesting.
I thank my twenty-year-old voice for her words. How would she ever have known the impact they would have decades later?
